Wall and other surfaces are often textured. Textures can be an integral part of the surface, such as with a concrete or wood wall, or can be a separate layer or coating applied to an underlying structural member for aesthetic purposes. The texture can be patterned, as in the case of wood grain, or can be random or variegated, such as with a conventional sprayed on texture coating.
A problem arises when the surface on which a texture pattern has been formed is damaged. The damage may arise from any one of a number of causes such as a dent or hole from an impact, discoloration or the like from water damage, and seams left after the removal and replacement of a portion of structural wall member to allow access through the wall. After the damage has been repaired, the texture on the repaired portion of the wall often does not match the pre-existing texture pattern on the wall around the repaired portion.
One class of surface texture is formed by applying a coating material to the wall surface. Typically, this type of texture material is initially applied to a structural drywall member using a spray applicator that combines the texture material in wet form with a stream of pressurized air. This type of texture material will be referred to herein as drywall texture material. Drywall texture material is typically white and is not usually appropriate as a finish surface, so at least one coat of paint is typically applied over the texture material to form the finish surface.
Aerosol systems for dispensing drywall texture material typically include a system for varying the size of an outlet opening defined by the system to allow the texture pattern formed thereby to be altered to match the pre-existing texture pattern. The present invention is of particular importance when embodied as a system or method for applying drywall texture material during the process of repairing a structural drywall member, and that application of the present invention will be described herein in detail. The present invention may, however, have application to other types of texture materials and application systems. The scope of the present invention should thus be determined by the claims appended hereto and not the present background discussion and following detailed description of the invention.
One problem with repair systems for dispensing drywall texture material is that the coating formed thereby does not set in the desired pattern until the texture material dries. If paint is brushed or rolled onto the texture material before it has dried, the mechanical action of applying the paint over the undried texture material can unacceptably alter the texture pattern. On the other hand, it is desirable to complete the repair job as soon as possible, which requires that paint be applied to the texture material covering the patched region as soon as possible after the texture material has dried.
Additionally, most texture material is white, and white or off-white is a common interior paint color. When a number of small holes in a room are repaired, it can be difficult to determine where the repairs have been made when because the white texture material on the repaired area does not stand out against the background of white paint.
The need thus exists for systems and methods for applying drywall texture material to wall surfaces that: (a) allow paint to be applied over the texture material as soon as possible without altering the texture pattern; and/or (b) help identify where repairs have been made in the wall.